This invention pertains to ramps used to allow human ingress and egress to and from a boat to land, and is more particularly concerned with a portable ramp for such purposes having components which can be folded into the ramp plank and easily carried, and unfolded so that it can be mounted to the boat and near the land to provide ramp stability and safety during ingress and egress. In the prior art, ramps have been positioned to allow people to walk from a boat to the land and vice versa. Some of these ramps have legs which extend from a plank to provide ramp support, and others have hand rails which extend from the plank to provide grasping to allow passengers to maintain their balance. However, there has existed a need in the art for a ramp having a plank which can be positioned near a boat in a fashion to keep the boat end of the plank away from the boat so that it will not jar against it and to support the plank in a manner to reduce the angle of inclination of the plank. When the angle of inclination is too steep, a passenger walking on the plank can stumble or lose balance and fall into the water. There has also existed a need in the art to attach the ramp to the boat so that it will be securely held but free to move or articulate as the boat moves on the waves.
There has furthermore been a need in the prior art to have a portable ramp which can be carried by grasping a hand hold which serves another function other than being a hand hold. There has furthermore been a need for a compact ramp operable by a single person and of convenient shape for storage purposes. It is also desirable to make a plank which has formations which can be used for functions other than passenger support.
The present invention supplies the aforementioned needs in the prior art. The ramp of the present invention has a walking plank which has its boat end secured to the boat by chains so that the boat end is supported beneath the level of the deck while the land end of the plank is supported by outwardly extending legs which rest on the bank and provide a wider base for the plank. The supporting of the boat end beneath the deck and the raising of the land end above the land decreases the angle of inclination of the walking plank relative to the boat and to the land, thus making ingress and egress over the plank safer and more convenient for the passengers. The suspension of the boat end beneath the deck provides a convenient step for the passengers to ascend from the plank to the boat deck.
The invention further comprises a parallelogram-shaped hand rail assembly which includes a pair of hand rails which in the unfolded position are parallel to the plank and supported by braces extending from the plank to the end of the rails. The rear braces extend from the boat end of the plank and curve to their connections to the end of the hand rails so that the curvature positions the boat end of the plank away from the boat to prevent plank instability by bouncing and rubbing against the boat stern or side. The ramp is made quite narrow for light-weight in handling and storage; however, the pivot axes of the braces are canted so that while the braces stow along the outside of the ramp, when they are extended, they move outward giving adequate hip clearance for users of the ramp. The curvature of the rails permits the upper end of the rails to clear the boat railing.
The chains extend from the exterior sides of the plank around the outsides of the rear brace to trap the braces when the chains are secured to the boat, and by such engagement provide lateral support to prevent the plank from turning sideways and wobbling. The rounded end at the ramp on the land and the mechanics of the chain/ramp attachment minimizes the digging in of the ramp into the land or sand when the boat moves or turns. The mechanics of the chain/ramp attachment refers to the tilting of the ramp so as to raise one side of the ramp and permit it to plane over the sand. The chains are engaged to the boat by low profile pivotal clips which by their pivotal action allow the clip to maintain alignment with the direction of chain extension as the chains are moved by the waves which move the boat.
The parallelogram hand rail is unfolded until the supports engage in U-shaped retainers and when such engagement occurs a single person can easily maneuver the ramp by placing his foot against the boat end of the plank and by grasping the hand rails.
The present invention is portable and easy to operate. When the ramp is to be disengaged and returned to the boat the upper end of the ramp is placed on the boat and the chains are disengaged from the deck latches and are placed within channels formed unitary with the plank. Then the parallelogram rail arrangement is folded in parallelogram fashion so that the components of the assembly also lie within the channels and are held therein by hooks extending from the plank so that the hand rail can be grasped to carry the ramp. The support legs also fold beneath the ramp into cavities within the plank so that they do not project from the ramp. THe various structural members are therefore foldable into light-weight compact and easily portable shape which a single person can maneuver with ease. The present invention thus provides improvements in safety, convenience, and structural ultization long needed in the art.